Off the Grid
by boerwina
Summary: AU When Ian Doyle reemerges, Emily's life is threatened. The BAU team will do whatever it takes to protect one of their own. Pairings: Prentiss/Hotch, Garcia/Morgan, JJ/Rossi and Reid/OC.
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: So…this story started as a prompt for Daisyangel's forum. I got assigned Boys of Summer by Kenny Chesney and the only thing the song made me think of was the saying "All for one and One for all" LOL. It led my imagination down this crazy road and I'm hoping that you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing and thinking about it!

A few notes: Set mostly season 6 prior to the Doyle debacle. JJ isn't with Will and doesn't have Henry. Hotch has Jack and Hayley died. I've tried to write the characters as close to what we all see on tv but sometimes the characters just give me something different! LOL bear with me and I hope you guys enjoy!

I do not own CM (sad face)… maybe one day…

Off The Grid

Chapter 1:

Her hair streamed out behind her as she stormed into the BAU headquarters. Quickly scanning the room and not spotting the man in question, she directed her fury towards the stairs and his office.

Not bothering to knock, she pushed the door open with such force that the older man looked up from the file he was reviewing with a shock.

"Pren-" Hotch began before quickly being interrupted by the furious brunette.

"What the hell do you want from me Hotch?" Emily fumed as she threw her hands up in frustration at the older man. "Can you explain to me why I just got out of meeting with the freaking ice queen herself, during which, I was given a detailed account of how the agency plans on faking my death. But oh no, that isn't all of it! Apparently the only people that have the rank to know are you and JJ! I'm just supposed to turn my back on them? Pretend that I died? I don't know who the hell thought up this ass backward plan but they need to be evaluated!" Emily fumed and after pacing back and forth with such speed, she abruptly gave the older profiler a steady glare as she dared him to argue with her.

"What I _want _from you, Emily, doesn't matter. It's what I _need_ you to do." He calmly tried to reason.

"Semantics, Hotchner! You tell me how you expect me to simultaneously fool the evil bastard hell bent on my demise and manage not to die in the process!" A wild look flashed through her eyes as the thought that Ian Doyle might actually succeed in killing her crossed her mind.

"That's exactly what you need to do Emily." Hotch slowly approached her and attempted to make his voice as soothing as possible.

"We are going to do whatever it takes to keep you safe from Doyle, Emily." Hotch whispered as he reached out and pulled her into his embrace. As Emily took a few calming breaths to re-center herself she noticed that she wasn't the only one with a rapid heartbeat. "Losing you would be unbearable." He confessed quietly as they separated and he saw the question in her eyes. "It doesn't matter what it takes, we have to keep you safe because _none_ of us will be the same if anything ever happened to you." The pair sat on the couch in his office and let their minds digest what had to be done.

"I hate running." She confessed quietly as she wrung her hands and started to tap her foot as her mind began to race again.

"It's not running, Emily." Hotch began as he gently put a hand on her knee to stop the tapping before he continued. "It's retreating from the spotlight so you can hunt him down instead of him hunting you."

"It's the same thing, Hotch." Emily whispered quietly as she slumped her shoulders in defeat. "I thought this was done years ago. We almost didn't get him the first time." She confessed quietly.

"Last time you weren't working with a team of the best profilers in the country. A team that would do anything for you; were going to catch him Emily." Hotch promised.

As his words sunk in, Emily stood from the couch and purposefully headed towards the door. As she swung it open she glanced back over her shoulder, "I'm going to invite the team to lunch and I am going to tell them the plan. They would never leave me in the dark if the roles were reversed and I can't do it to them. We are going to be in the backroom at Wai Lings, one o'clock. I understand if you don't want to unnecessarily risk your career seeing as how you already know what the plan is." Emily finished and the door was almost pulled shut when she heard Hotch call out her name.

"Emily? I'll have the sweet and sour chicken with rice." Hotch said calmly and Emily smiled as she pulled the door shut behind her and as she went to get orders for lunch.


	2. Chapter 2

Off The Grid

Chapter 2:

Later that afternoon, the back room at Wai Lings was occupied by the 7 members of the BAU, the table was filled with mostly finished Chinese dishes and laughter as the team let loose and enjoyed each other's company. Emily looked at her watch and shook her head quietly. She hated to ruin the mood but if she was going to have enough time to tell the team everything and give them time to digest it before returning to work, she had to get started.

She cleared her throat as she pushed her chair back and stood. Six sets of eyes immediately settled on her and Emily steeled herself for the difficult conversation and began. She told them about her original encounter with Doyle, the fact that Doyle had escaped and was in pursuit of her and she finished with the plan to lure Doyle out of hiding.

"They want you to do what?" JJ asked, her shock was evident in her tone.

"Lovebug, they want you to go away from us?" Pen asked quietly as she fought the urge to tear up at the thought of her family being split apart in such a cruel way. "It's okay baby girl." Derek soothed quietly as he grasped his best friend's hand under the table.

"Taking into account the criminal experience and resources Doyle possesses, the odds of Doyle achieving his goal is about thirty percent." Reid announced before continuing. "Comparatively the odds would be much smaller if we were allowed to accompany you. A unit of our size and experience would be practically unbeatable." He concluded before taking another sip of his iced tea calmly.

"What do you mean _if_?" Penelope shrieked. "Of course our Gumdrop isn't going alone!"

Hotch cleared his throat and said, "In the interest of detecting as little suspicion as possible, it would be best if Emily-"

"Boss man! I swear if you continue that statement, I will erase your credit history and have you on all of the federal watch lists before you can make it to your car!" Penelope threatened as she glared at the Unit Chief.

Derek reached over and grabbed her hand in his as he attempted to soothe his baby girl's nerves. "What's another option?" Derek questioned.

"We go with her." JJ stated simply. "After all in a group as tight as ours, it's almost impossible to distinguish where one team member ends and another begins. When Doyle chose to go after Emily, he chose to go after all of us and I for one am not okay with letting an international creep like Doyle keep us apart."

"Well said, Angelfish." Penelope praised before turning and leveling the male team members with a glare. "JJ's in, I'm sure as hell going, that leaves the four of you-Don't give me that look Derek Morgan! As much as you care about us, we understand if you can't risk your career and life to come with us." Pen looked away from Derek's stunned face and waited for the others to make up their minds. After a second of stunned silence, Derek grasped Penelope's wrist and spun her to face him.

"Baby girl, don't ever feed me that bull shit again. You know it would kill me if anything ever happened to you." He growled quietly to her before speaking a little louder so the others could hear him. "There is no way in hell that I would ever let you go without me. Screw the Bureau, they wanted to send Em in alone. I'm ready to cut my losses now." He furiously turned to the unit chief, daring him to argue.

"Derek, we need to think rationally and whatever we decide to do needs to be done in an organized manner. The Bureau isn't sanctioning any of this and we are going to need to leave at least one person behind to give us the resources that only Bureau can provide." Hotch calmly countered.

"Stop thinking for the Bureau Hotch! Doyle is trying to kill Emily and even though keeping the team together gives us the best chance of stopping him, _The Bureau_ doesn't think it's the best idea!" Derek leaned over the table and glared at their Unit Chief. "And if you think for a minute that Penelope is going to stay behind and provide you tech support- Penelope wedged herself between Derek and the table and pushed him backward until he was forced to lock eyes with her. "Handsome, you have to calm down for me." She grasped either side of his face with her hands and continued, "I have to stay behind. I wasn't thinking clearly earlier but I'm the only one that can make sure your tracks are covered and give you contact with the Bureau resources at the same time. I want nothing more than to accompany you and watch the son of a bitch get taken down but it has to be me." She pleaded with him to understand. "I love you, Derek Morgan. It's going to kill me every day that I can't have you here by my side but it has to be done. Our family is threatened, D. We have to protect each other, no matter the cost." Derek caught the tear as it escaped her eye and brushed it away with his thumb.

"I love you too Baby Girl. When we get back, you and I are going to have a proper dinner. A dinner that we should have had months ago." Derek vowed to her as he closed the distance between them and leaned in and kissed her gently.

"Wow." Penelope whispered. Dave cleared his throat behind them, reminding Penelope that she had a lot of things to get done. Turning to walk back to the table, she reached back for Derek's hand and he intertwined his fingers with hers without hesitation. "We need to be heading back but everyone should come by my apartment tonight around 7 and we will iron out the rest of the details then."

Everyone nodded, collected their things and made their way back to the BAU.


	3. Chapter 3

Later that night:

"Okay, people. Emily, Hotch, Derek and JJ are going. Emily has to go, Hotch is never going to let Emily out of his sight, JJ's people skills are going to gain you access to places and people and Derek's manly physique is going to grant you the answers that you seek. I can fake Emily's death, put in for a leave of absence for Hotch, I can book you plane tickets and hotel reservations for Spain. I already called Jessica and explained to her she has to take Jack to New Mexico for as long as it takes. I've already shiped the necessary text books to Jessica's parent's house out there. Rudy and Marge and wonderful people by the way- I will leave explaining it all to Jack to you. If anyone at the Bureau asks, Jack did a project for school and you are feeling burnt out-it's a win-win." Penelope paused to type in a few notes into her laptop and looked up at the stunned faces of her team. "What's wrong lollipops?"

"I think we are just surprised that you already have a plan." JJ cautiously said.

"Of course I have a plan, gumdrop. It's my job to be prepared." Penelope said without pause. "Are you two okay with staying put?" She indicated Rossi and Reid with a flick of her fluffy duck pen. "Agent Tall Dark and Italian would probably be better use here with me, providing interference with Strauss. And Reid can use his genius powers for good and help me make sense of the information that you guys will inevitably find." Penelope finished her spiel and looked around for signs of disapproval. "Everyone good?"

"I need everyone to listen to what I have to say." Emily began and even though everyone knew where she was going with this, they let her continue. "I need to make sure that everyone realizes the effect this can have on the rest of their lives. Careers can and probably will, be ended over this. Doyle is my mess-I should clean it up myself. I love each and every one of you and I don't know what I would do without any of you. I promise I won't be offended if you decide that you can't or shouldn't help me."

"Are you done?" Dave asked and when Emily nodded, he continued. "I'm in Prentiss. And before you argue with any of us anymore about staying behind, what would you do if the roles were reversed?" Dave folded his arms and waited for her response.

Emily shook her head, "That's different."

"The hell it is!" Hotch proclaimed. "We're a family and anyone dumb enough to mess with one of us-gets all of us. Doyle isn't going to know what hit him." Dave raised his eyebrows at Aaron's fierce tone and stored the info for later.

Derek, Reid and JJ nodded their agreement and Emily smiled at them.

"Thanks guys." Em whispered and JJ pulled her into a tight hug.

"Alright lovies, back to the plan. Emily is going to have to go under first, Hotch can meet up with her about two weeks later." Seeing the shocked look on Emily's face she rushed to say, "I'm sorry lovebug but if I put him under any sooner, it will arise suspicion." Seeing Emily reluctantly nod, Penelope continued detailing her plan. "JJ is going to claim to have a mental break following the "death" of Emily. She is going to Pennsylvania to reconnect with family and find herself again. She's going to take a plane into Pittsburg and there you will take a flight to Germany using the first fake passport in your envelope. All you physical characteristics are the same so anything short of a fingerprint scan and we are golden. You will connect with Hotch and Emily on the 26th in Frankfurt, Germany. I already booked tickets to Chicago for Derek, arriving in Chicago on the 25th and returning sometime in March. Alright, handsome, once your plane touches down in Chicago, you have an hour to collect your bags, switch out your baggage tags with the new ones and use the new passport to fly to Germany with ticket also in your envelope." Penelope handed Hotch, Emily, Derek and JJ matching manila envelopes. "Inside each envelope are plane tickets that match your new identities and two different prepaid cell phones. They are all charged, activated and have the other three cell numbers programed into them and my untraceable line is number one on all of the speed dials. The four of you will meet in Frankfurt at the airport on the 28th. I have JJ on one flight, Derek on another. Your two flights land within 20 minutes of each other and Emily and Hotch's flight lands 40 minutes after that. Once you guys have all landed, inside Emily's envelope is the business card for a spa in Frankfurt. An old friend of mine will set you all up with new looks that suit your new identity. Once the makeovers are finished, Helora will take pictures of you and forward them to me here. I will make new identities and passports and have them overnighted to a PO box. PO box # 23487 at the central postal office in Frankfurt. Helora owes me big, she's going to have the back room set up with beds and a bathroom for you guys to use for a day or so until I can get you the new paperwork." Penelope paused for a moment to type some more on one of her laptops and let them look over their envelope contents.

"What do you have planned for us, Penelope?" Reid questioned as he gestured between himself and Rossi.

"You my little genius are requesting a removal from field duties. You unfortunately are suffering paralyzing migranes at the moment and consider yourself a risk to the rest of your team. It's effective Monday which leaves us the rest of the week to fake Emily's "death" and get her underground. Rossi is going to behave like its business as usual and try to make Erin Stauss as pissed off as possible." Penelope smiled and looked at the older man over the rim of her glasses. "We want her off her game, not nuclear." Pen cautioned.

"Then next weekend, JJ is going to have a breakdown and you're going to have to be convincing cupcake. I recommend not sleeping the night before, maybe a few energy drinks to keep you going and honestly just keep crying and talking. Don't make any effort to make sense, just go with it. It's a good thing you were a theatre major before you switched to public relations isn't?"

"Excuse me, how the hell did you-never mind." JJ muttered as she remembered to never doubt Penelope's hacking skills. She rolled her eyes in Rossi's direction and was shocked to see a heated lustful look in his eyes as he checked her out. Looking her eyes with his, she expected him to look away quickly but instead Dave dared her to blink first and JJ didn't look away until she felt a shiver work its way over her entire body and she felt hot, hot all over and judging by the smug look on his face, Rossi knew exactly what he did to her.

Penelope's voice brought her out of her daze. "You guys look over the plan with your brilliant profiler minds and let me know lickety split if I missed anything and I will fix it as fast as lightning." Penelope cheerily said as she walked out of the room to get a new cup of coffee.

"You're amazing." Derek said to Penelope as he came up behind her in the kitchen.

"You're supposed to be going over your files, Hot Stuff." Penelope replied as she smiled at him.

"You are much better to look at momma." He flirted.

"And anyone who has ever met you could vouch for your physicality, Handsome but looking over the files is important." Penelope said back as she handed him his file that he had placed on the counter. "Come on Derek, I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you that I could have prevented."

Derek saw in her eyes that she meant every word. "Slow your roll, woman. There is no way in hell that anything, that may or may not happen in the future, could be your fault. You came up with these detailed plans, passports and plane tickets in a few hours time. And you are a genius baby girl." Derek lifted her chin to lock her eyes with his. "I want you to promise me that you won't blame yourself for anything that might happen. You've done everything you can and now it's time for us to do our part. You're not responsible for the safety of everybody. It's too much pressure baby, I don't want you to worry about anything." Derek leaned in a kissed her softly. Penelope responded to his kiss this time and leaned in closer and kissed him back fiercely.

"Thank you, Handsome." Penelope whispered against his lips.

"I love you baby girl." Derek whispered back.

"I love you too handsome." She whispered back before leaning in and kissing him again. "How about we have that date tonight? I'd rather be distracted by visions of your sexy body when we are chasing down the international creeper and the only way that we are going to get to have some mind blowing sex before all of this gets into motion is if you buy me dinner tomorrow night."

"I'll pick you up at 7 baby." Derek kissed her hard again before regretfully picking up the file again and heading back to meet with the team.


End file.
